Apparel-corset.



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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

MARY L. BARCLEY,AOF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

APPAREL- CORSET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 659,013, dated October 2, 1900.

Application filed J nly 5, 1900.

To a/ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, MARY L. BARGLEY, of

the city of Newark, county of Essex, State of same passing through a vertical slot in the.

body of the corset and vertical stays provided to give form to the same in its vertical lines, all of which features have long been in public use.

My invention consists in novel and useful improvements and combinations to overcome serious defects in this kind of corset and to attain new and desirable results.

With this object in view I provide one or more transverse stays to extend continuously all the way across the breast portion of my improved corset, and I also provide that the transverse stays at the sides shall be arranged to diverge from the front center of the corset in gradually-widening spaces toward each side thereof.

Although in the drawings accompanying this specification I have shown the lower transverse stay of the series as extending straight across the breast portion and the upper ones of the series as lying closely together at the front center and diverging therefrom toward the sides, it is obvious'that the upper ones instead of being continuous may b'e inserted radially in each breast portion separately, in accordance with the claim for corsets patented to me December 5, 1899, To the shoulder-straps I add a forked portion to connect them to the body of the corset at the back, so as to draw more evenly and closely to the form than the single straps heretofore in use. At the inside waist-line, attached to each side, I provide a beit and buckle to fasten at the back to draw the corset closely at the waist. At the inside of the front center I provide in an independent pocket a vertical fiexible steel held removably in place, so that it may be worn or Serial No. 22,629. KNO model.)

not or be taken out when cleaning the corset or another steel be readily substituted therefor. At the lower front center I provide an exterior reinforcement-piece attached to the corset and forming a part thereof, stiffened by a series of transverse converging stays and provided with eyelets properly placed, so that the securing belts attached to the side extremities of the body of the corset may encircle the waist and be made to connect by hooks with the eyelets in the reinforcementpiece. The object of this feature is to haveit perform the office of the ordinary heavy front steel with enlarged or spoon-shaped end, but without its great discomfort and detriment to health. Heretofore the light-boned corsets without the heavy front, steel, while they have been easy and desirable as to comfort, have been apt to turn up at the lower front when the wearer was in a sitting posture and fail thereafter to resume their proper form and fit, and thus would exaggerate rather than lessen any imperfection of personal form. By means of my improvement Iovercome this difficulty, for in my invention the securing-belt on the left side passes back and around the waist to the right side and attaches to the reinforcement-piece at the lower front of the corset, and the one on the right side ina like manner is drawn around the left side and also connects with the reinforcement-piece. Inv this manner the belts hold the corset to the form by theiraction in drawing from opposite sides no matter what the position of the wearer, give perfect freedom of movement, prevent the corset from bulging or turning up, and act as a form-reducer. It is obvious that such encircling belts would not so act if simply buckled around the waist or fastened at the hips; but when connected to the reinforcement-piece, as described in my invention, they accomplish both the purpose of drawing the corset tightly about the form and of producing a pressure at the. reinforcementpiece at the lower front of the corset, causing it to act as a form-reducer.

In the drawings accompanying this specication, and which form partthereof, Figure 1 is a vertical side View, and Fig. 2 a vertical perspective view, of my improved corset.

Throughout the drawings like letters refer to similar parts.

Referring to Fig. 1, A represents the body portion of a corset. At G are shown the transverse stays, which extend across the breast front and diverge from front center to eaeh Side. D indicates the sliouldenstraps, havingr forked ends at the back connected to the body of the corset. B indicates waist-encireliner belt passing` through slot F in the body of the corset and connectingr with reinforcement-piece C. C shows reinforcement-piece with con verging transverse stays to stifen the same and eyelets lo attach'to belt B with hooks.

Fig. 2 shows the inside waist-belt E partly in dotted lilies where attached. to inside'of Corset at the sides and provided with buckle t0 secure saine around the waist. H indi- Cates in dotted lines the aperture in independent inside vertical pocket for insertion or removal of central front steel.

Having now indicated and described the Several features of myinvention, distinguishing what I claim as new from what is known to be old, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- A Closed-front corset, havingr at its lower front center a reinforcing piece which is strengthened by a series of transverse stays arranged in con vergingr pockets, and provided with eyelets adapted to engage with hooks on the ends of the securing-belts, which are atlached to the side extremities ot' the corset; the same operatinnr 1.o draw across the back from opposite sides, to lil,- tlie corset tightly about the form, and at the saine time lo produce a pressure at the said reinforcing-piece, substantially as described, and as and for the purposes set forth.

MARY L. BARCLEY.

Witnesses:

S. .PINK RAWLE, HERBERT COTTRELL. 

